Physical fitness enhances math skills in kids

By

IANS

|

Updated

:

13 August 2015,

12:14 pm

New York: If you want your kids to shine in maths, allow them play time as researchers have found that fitness enhances math skills by aiding the development of brain structures that contribute to mathematics achievement.

Children who are aerobically fit tend to have significantly thinner gray matter – the outermost layer of brain cells in the cerebrum — associated with better mathematics performance, the findings showed.

“Gray matter thinning is the sculpting of a fully formed, healthy brain. The theory is that the brain is pruning away unnecessary connections and strengthening useful connections,” said lead researcher Laura Chaddock-Heyman from the University of Illinois in the US.